Category: CougarClips

Friday, Feb 12 – Professional Day for Staff; No School for Students
Monday, Feb 15 – Schools are Closed in observance Presidents’ Day
Tuesday, Mar 9 – PTSA Meeting, Discussion on The Social Dilemma movie (see trailer here).
Friday, Mar 12 – Early Release Day Schedule for MP3 Interim Reporting and Grading
Monday, March 15 – Tentative Return to School Start Date
Mar 29 – Apr 5 – Spring Break – No school for students
Thursday, Apr 15 – End of MP 3
Friday, Apr 16 – Professional Day; No School for Students

To all of our new and returning CJMS families – welcome to our 2020-2021 academic year. While obviously a challenging time, the PTSA is working hard to ensure we continue to support our school and community. This is why we need you more than ever to join our PTSA!

1. Please sign up as a member here and follow the instructions. You will need to log into AtoZ, to verify information for the school directory.
2. We’re also looking for a few good volunteers! See our open volunteer positions as well – you can easily select positions based on your time availability and most do not require any significant time throughout the school year as we understand all of our families are busy.

Additional information found here in a letter from our PTSA president. We look forward to your support and working together through this very challenging year!

Thank you to all of our PTSA participants who contributed many ideas for parents to help engage their children in events in a safe and responsible manner. Some of those ideas are highlighted below. We will track these on our website and we’re always interested in learning more! Please send all suggestions to cjms.cougarclips@gmail.com . As always, please check on the ever changing COVID restrictions before you make a trip!

In the meantime, please see a list of some activities below:

Gaithersburg Youth Club has created study bubbles for Grades 1-8 to offer a safe learning environment for students. For more information, click here. Or you can create your own small study groups with friends.

Looking for some outdoor hiking or natures walks? Check out Croyden Creek Nature Center, Great Falls Park, Great Seneca Park (bonus – check out the Winter Lights Festival – Must get tickets in ADVANCE), or check out this comprehensive list of Montgomery County park trails.

Looking for horseback riding activities? Check out MoCo’s list of parks and trails for equestrian activities or horse centers here.

Join virtual athletics or find some friends to do drills outside.

Get your SSL hours in! Check out Montgomery County Volunteer Center to find SSL specific activities. (Don’t forget to register for SSL through the myMCPS portal!)

Outdoor movies! Either have one outside and cozy up with a firepit or check out a few drive in movies spots in MoCo (Founding Farmers or DC Party Box).

The MCCPTA Nominating Committee is accepting nominations for MCCPTA officer positions for the 2021-2022 school year.  Learn more here. The positions are:

President

Vice President for Educational Issues

Vice President for Administration

Vice President for Programs

Vice President for Advocacy

Treasurer

Recording Secretary, Board of Directors

Recording Secretary, Delegates Assembly

Timeline–

February 19 – all nominations are due; this will include completion of the two attached files. (Area VPs and CCs are due later and will be discussed in a separate email)

After February 19, the nominating committee may seek additional nominees for positions if qualified candidates have not been nominated.

By March 27, the nominating committee will announce the slate of candidates.

After the slate is announced, anyone who wants to run for a position from the floor at the election must notify the nominating committee by April 13 (14 days before the election)

April 27 Delegates Assembly – election

Nominees should represent the diversity and strength of our membership, continue to provide leadership and support for local PTAs in the coming year, and be committed to the overall mission of PTA. Our goal is to ensure that MCCPTA has strong and skillful leaders who will work together to advocate for our children.

Please read the excerpts below from the MCCPTA Bylaws describing the required qualifications for nominees as well as the 2020-2021 advocacy priorities.

FROM MCCPTA BYLAWS

ARTICLE VI: OFFICERS AND THEIR ELECTION

Section 4. The following provisions shall govern the eligibility of individuals to be officers of the MCCPTA:

a. # Each officer shall be a member of a local PTA within the area of this council PTA.

b. Only members of a local PTA whose state and council PTA dues are paid shall be eligible to hold office. The president, vice president for educational issues, vice president for administration, vice president for programs, and vice president for advocacy shall have served at least one (1) full year on a local PTA board of directors and one (1) full year on the council board of directors. The recording secretary for delegate assemblies, recording secretary for board of directors meetings, and treasurer shall have served at least one (1) full year on a local PTA board of directors or one (1) full year on the council board of directors.

c. MCCPTA treasurer cannot concurrently be treasurer or check signer of a local PTA.

d. A term of office shall be one year or until a successor is elected. No officer may be eligible to serve more than three (3) consecutive terms in the same office.

e. A person who has served in an office for more than one half of a full term shall be deemed to have served a full term in such office.

f. Any officer of MCCPTA shall resign within a week of filing for candidacy for public office.

Section 7. Nominating Committee 

f. The nominating committee shall nominate one (1) candidate for the offices of president, vice-president for educational issues, vice-president for administration, vice-president for programs, vice-president for advocacy, recording secretary for delegate assemblies, recording secretary for board of directors meetings, and treasurer.

g. The nominating committee shall send the list of nominees and their qualifications to the members of the Board of Directors and to the local PTA presidents and delegates at least thirty (30) days before the annual meeting. The consent of each candidate must be obtained before his/her name is placed in nomination. The nominated slate will include nominations for Area Vice Presidents and Cluster Coordinators (see Article VIIIA, Section 4).

h. The nominating committee must be notified of the intention to run from the floor at least fourteen (14) days prior to election, provided the consent of each candidate has been obtained before his/her name is placed in nomination and candidates have met all qualifications specified in Section 4 of these bylaws and are prepared to present qualifications as specified by the nominating committee as part of the nomination selection process. The nominating committee shall send the list of individuals who plan to run from the floor to the members of the Board of Directors and to the local PTA presidents and delegates at least seven (7) days before the annual meeting.

The PTA would like to host some limited outdoor gatherings to help some 6th graders meet one another. In order to best manage this we need some volunteers to help manage it. It would require a limited amount of work, mostly just setting up the Signup Genius and ensuring there is an adult chaperone. CJMS has offered the use of some outdoor equipment as needed. If you can assist, please contact pres.cjms@gmail.com

Congrats to all of our CJMS artists who submitted their work for the annual PTA Reflections Art Program. The theme for this year’s entries was “I Matter Because…”

Please click this link to take you to this year’s entrants to see and read about their works of art.

Many thanks to Jen Barlow for bringing this program back to CJMS this year!

Please join us for our virtual December PTSA General meeting with our guest speaker Sheri Barnett, LCSW-C for a discussion on coping with stress and fostering resilience in ourselves and our children during this time of COVID. What challenges are our children facing? How do we help them during this difficult time? When should we seek help?

Ms. Barnett has over 35 years experience working with adolescents, young adults and their families in the treatment of depression, anxiety, school avoidance and underachievement. She believes that positive outcomes are best realized through relationships built on trust, transparency and mutual respect. She is unusually successful engaging young people who may be resistant to therapy. She formulates and implements effective and practical interventions. She uses techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy and other evidence-based interventions. Ms. Barnett is currently in practice with Rathbone and Associates focusing on the needs of adolescents.

Zoom info for the PTA meeting will be provided closer to the meeting date.

The Prekindergarten and Head Start offices are accepting donations of new coats for low income students. Hats, gloves and scarves are also needed. Coats for boys and girls in sizes 5, 6, 6x and 7 can be ordered online and delivered by mail/UPS to: Montgomery County Public Schools Head Start, Rocking Horse Road Center, 4910 Macon Road, Room 141, Rockville, MD 20852. New coats can also be dropped off in person by contactless delivery from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Nov. 30 or Monday, Dec. 7, in the rear parking lot of Rocking Horse Road Center.

If you have not yet done so please be sure to complete the MCPS survey indicating your preference regarding Return to School, which is slated to begin phased-in return to in-person on January 12th.

NOTE: If you select the in-person option, you can switch to virtual at any time. Click here for the survey and be sure to complete for each child.

Calling CJMS Artists!

Here is your chance to explore your artistic talents. The PTA Reflections Program is BACK (virtually)!

PTA’s Reflections is a nationwide art program which provides opportunities for recognition and access to the arts. The theme for the 2020-2021 program year is “I Matter Because….”

Submission Deadline EXTENDED TO Friday, November 20, 2020

Click here for information and student entry forms.